W. Hugh Conrod fonds

William Hugh Conrod was born on October 18, 1928 in Dartmouth, Halifax County, Nova Scotia. For most of his childhood he lived in East Chezzetcook, where his father operated a store. At the age of thirteen, Conrod moved to Windsor, Hants County to attend King’s Collegiate School and graduated from grade twelve two years later at the age of 15. Conrod was also educated in public relations at the University of King’s College in Halifax. His first job was as a carpenter’s assistant at the Bedford Naval Magazine, which ended when the building was destroyed in the Bedford Magazine Explosion in July of 1945. Conrod then worked briefly for Colwell Bros. before landing a job as a reporter and photojournalist at the Halifax Chronicle in 1946. The following year he became superintendent of the Dartmouth News Bureau of the Halifax Herald, where he remained for twenty-one years. Conrod married Enid Mae Wright and together they had three children, Wendy Patricia, Roger Derek, and Monique Virginia. They later divorced and he then married Suzanne Paule Lafrance- D’Allaire.

In 1968, Conrod joined the Nova Scotia Department of Highways, working as director of information until 1970, when he became administrative assistant to the deputy minister. While at the Department of Highways, he played an important role in highway safety programs and initiated award winning snowmobile and anti-litter programs. From 1972 to 1973, Conrod organized Nova Scotia’s newly formed Department of Recreation as executive director, prior to becoming deputy minister from 1973 to 1978. From 1978 to 1980 he served as deputy minister of the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism. Conrod also became chairman of the Nova Scotia Lottery Commission in 1976, was founding director of the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, and participated in the founding of Lotto Canada. Conrod went into semi-retirement from public service in the 1980s.

Greatly interested in history, Conrod was a founding director of the Dartmouth Heritage Museum, and helped found museums in Musquodoboit Harbour and Jeddore. Conrod also helped create the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and served three years on the Board of Governors of the Nova Scotia Museum. He also produced books on history and a series of cookbooks with his wife Suzanne. A builder from a young age, Conrod also renovated and built over thirty houses and housing units, including “Le Coq d’Or” in Chester, Lunenburg County; a Victorian renovation with his wife Suzanne and Tony Hirtle which won the Nova Scotia Housing Commission’s Award of Merit in 1994. In 1995, Conrod went into full retirement. For his service in the public and cultural sectors, he was awarded the City of Dartmouth’s Good Citizenship Award and Citizen of the Year Award, as well as the Queen’s Jubilee Medal. Conrod died in Bridgewater, N.S. on Sept. 16, 2013 at the age of eighty-four.